Arch support



Marh 18, 1924. 1,487,095

' J. A. FOSTER I ARCH 'SUPFORT Filed Aug. 17. 1922 Patented Mar. 18,1924.

UNiTED TATES JAMES A. FOSTER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

1.87.95 F F ic,

PTET

ARCH SUPPORT.

Application filed August 17, 1922. Serial No. 582,387.

- accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an arch support for boots and shoes and itsobject is to provide a simple device which is cheap to manufacture andmay be readily applied to a boot or shoe to afford an efficient supportfor the several arches of the foot. A further object is to provide adevice of this character which will retain its resiliency and willreadily conform. to the requirements of the foot in use without becomingpermanently distort-ed or compacted in a manner to impair itsefficiency.

A further object is to provide a construction which may be cheaplymanufactured from material common upon the market and of a nature toretain its resiliency in use and which is such as to be practicallyunaffected by moisture from the foot of the wearer.

A further object is to provide a device for the purpose which is soconstructed as to afford an efficient sup-port for the several arches ofthe foot, the padding forming such supports being permanently secured inplace within the structure and so constructed as to retain theresiliency thereof and at the same time readily conform in use, to therequirements of the foot. It is also an object of the invention toprovide certain other new and useful features in the construction andarrangement of parts, all as' hereinafter, more fully described.

With the above and other ends in view the invention consists in thematters hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in theappended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing inwhich- Figure l is a side elevation of the skeleton of the human footshowing the inner longitudinal arch thereof;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the skeleton of the foot, showing the outerlongitudinal arch;

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of the foot skeleton illustrating theposition of the anterior metatarsal arch and transverse arch;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of' a shoe showing the human foot in placetherein and also the arch support embodying the invention;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of a shoe and the human foot in placetherein with the arch support also shown in place, the section beingtaken substantially upon the lineof thetransverse metatarsal arch of thefoot; Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the arch support embodying theinvention;

Fig. 7 is'a' perspective view of the arch showing the same opened out tomore clearly disclose its construction, and

Fig. '8 -is'an enlarged transverse section of the arch supportsubstantially upon the line 8-.8 of Fig. 6.

The many forms of arch supports now upon the market embody a more orless rigid metal member enclosed within a. suitable pad orenclosedwithin the structure ofthe ity are extremely uncomfortable to wear,

particularly at the beginning of their use and many people find itimpossible to use them on this account. The construction of applicantsdevice is such that it may be placed within the shoe and worn withoutdiscomfiture from the beginning, due to itsresiliency and flexibilitywhich makes it readily conformable to the requirements of the foot andyetaiford efficient support for the several foot arches. Theconstruction of the device is such as to afford support'for the archesat the particular points requiring support and which support is justsufficient to prevent the breaking down of the arches and to. correcttheir deformity without causing discomfiture and having a yieldingquality which will permit the device to conform to theparticularrequirements of the foot to which it is applied, atjthe sametime retaining its yielding quality during use by reason of suchconstruction and also being unaffected by dampness fromthe foot whichwould ordinarily cause disintegration and i the compacting of the devlcen such a manner as to make it unyielding and uncomfortab-le to wear.vantages of the present construction are secured through a particulararrangement of parts and facility of manufacture and cheapness ofconstruction are also secured.

The arch support illustrative of thepresent invention and shown in Figs.6, 7 and 8 comprises a bottom ply 1 of suitable thin flexible material,such as leather, fiber Further the several ad-- board, or other fibrouscomposition sheet material. This bottom ply has an outline conformingsubstantially to the outline of the interior of the'shank portion of theshoe, extending rearwardly to substantially the rear end of the heel andforwardly to a line a short distance forward of the firstmetatarsoa-phalangeal joint, the outer edge 2 being curved slightly toconform to the curvature of the interior of the shoe shank and the heelend portion 3 being rounded'to fit within the heel of the shoe. isformed with a flap 5 formed integral with this edge and adapted to befolded over the lower ply to enclose between them a series of leaves 6,said leaves being of double oval shape in outline and of varying sizesto give, when in place, the desired thickness at the properpoints toproperly support the several arches of the foot. These leaves 6 aresecured'together in any suitable manner, as by a line of stitching 7and'to the lower ply 1 substantially along the inner edge 4 of the ply 1and along the folding line of the flap 5, and thus, when folded alongsaid line, are folded upon themselves and are superposed, one uponanother with the leaves of lesser dimensions arranged; midway of thelength of those of greater dimensions and'midway of the length of theply 1 which forms the bottom of the arch support when completed. Thepoint of greatest thickness of material formed by'these several leavesis thus adjacent the edge 1 of'the device and midway of its length andgradually tapers in all directions from this point, the doubling over ofsaid leaves increasing the thickness along said edge of the deviceWllGlG'SLlCh thickness is required to afford efiicient support for theinner longitudinal archof the foot and said thicken-ed edge graduallytapering out toward each end of the device, due to the variation in thesizes of the'leaves.

Increased thickness at the forward end of the device intermediate theedges 2 and 4 to support the metatarsal arch of the foot, is secured byextending or curving the forward ends of the leaves forwardly betweenthese edges of the device thus giving forward gradually diminishingthickness which tapers forwardly from the point of greatest thickness,and by curving the leaves laterally of the device or in the direction oftheir width, a gradual taper in thickness is secured from the inner edge4' or point of greatest thickness toward the edge 2, said side edges ofthe leaves curving into the end portions thereof so that a suitablethickness of material is provided adjacent the edge 2 intermediate theends thereof to provide a thickness sufiicient to form an efiicientsupport forthe'outer lon- The inner edge 4 of this ply 1 gitudinal archof the foot. The rear or heel ends of the leaves are also curved orrounded in a manner similar to their forward'end's and thus when infolded condition provide a thickness of material tapering from thethickest portion adjacent and intermediate the ends of the edge 4rearwardly toward the heel portion and intermediate the edges 2 and 4:to provide a sufiicient thickness of and distribution of material toform an efficient support for the transverse arch of the foot adjacentthe heel portion.

After the leaves have been folded along the line 7, as described, theflap 5 is then folded upon these leaves to afford additional thicknessand is secured along its free margin to the bottom ply 1 outside themargin of the leaf of greatest area and thus the several leaves are heldin folded condition upon the bottom ply but are unsecured except alongthe line 7, They are therefore free to move and retain their re siliencyand tendency to separate, thus providing a comparatively softcompressible and resilient pad which, when the device is placed withinthe shoe, will retain its pliability and resiliency, but will readilyconform to the foot of the wearer without giving discomfiture.

After the flap 5 has beenturned'over and secured in place upon thebottom ply 1, a thin upper ply 8 of leather or other suitable flexiblematerial and of an outline substantially the same as that of the lowerply 1 withoutits flap 5, is secured in any suitable manner along itsmargin to the margin of the ply 1, thus forming a smooth continuousupper surface for the device upon which the wearers' foot rests when thedevice is in use, and providing a surface within the shoe which is not aplane surface but is slightly undulating and tapers laterally of theshank of the shoe to provide sufficient elevations at the proper pointsand over the proper areas within the shoe to afford efficient supportsfor the several arches of the foot. 7

By constructing the padding of the device of a series of separate leavesof a suitable materialsuch as paper or other thin fibrous sheets whichmay, if found desirable, be treated with a suitable moisture resistingfluid, this padding will retain its resiliency for a long period of timedue to the tendency of the separate leaves to separate when not underload and when placed under the weight of the foot, they will be pressedtogether and readily conform to the shape of the foot, at the same timeaffording support for the several foot arches without discomfiture tothe wearer.

The construction of the device is such that it may be cheaplymanufactured from a material obtainable in the open market at a low costand therefore the device may be sold at a price which will make itavailable to the public at large and may be placed in any boot or shoeto provide a seat therein for the foot of the wearer which will conformto the shape of hi foot and provide support for the arches thereof,gradually correcting any deformity in his arches as it use is continued.

Obviously any suitable material which is sufficiently soft and pliablemay be used in the construction of the device and the particular form,construction and arrangement of parts of the device may obviously bevaried within the scope of the appended claims Without departing fromthe spirit of the in.- vention and I do not therefore limit myself tothe particular construction shown.

What I claim is 1. An arch support for shoes and the lik comprising atop ply and a bottom ply, said plies having an outline conformingsubstantially to the interior shape of the shank portion of a shoe andextending into the heel portion and forwardly to a line beyond andadjacent to the metatarso-phalangeal joint of the human foot, and apadding between said plies comprising a plurality of leaves, arranged insuperposed relation and of different areas and outlines, said leavesbeing arranged in pairs wlth one leaf of embracing inner leaves, thefolded portions connecting the leaves of each pair forming a thickenededge portion for the padding to support the inner longitudinal arch ofthe foot, and means extending along the line of fold of the severalpairs of leaves for securing the pairs of leaves together.

2. An arch support as characterized in claim 1 and wherein said meansfor securing the several pairs of leaves together 00mprises a line ofstitching extending along the fold of the several pairs of leaves andthrough said leaves at the longitudinal center line of said fold.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES A. FOSTER.

Witnesses LEWIS E. FLANDERS, ANNA ltl. Doss.

